A fiddle player who influenced a generation of bluegrass music has died. Kenny Baker was 85. He played with Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys for more than two decades.
Kenny Baker was a sideman for much of his career. But he recorded some 20 albums of his own and popularized instrumentals like “Jerusalem Ridge.”
Baker became known for his “long-bow” and melodic style. He famously called bluegrass “nothing but a hillbilly version of jazz.” He was added to the International Bluegrass Music Association’s hall of fame in 1999.
Born near Jenkins, Kentucky, Baker was a third generation fiddler. Off and on when music wouldn’t pay the bills, he’d return to Kentucky to work in the coal mines.
Baker died Friday at Sumner Regional Medical Center from complications of a stroke.
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